Field of the Invention
The present invention relates broadly to miter saw fences and is more particularly directed to such fences whereby elongate work pieces may be miter cut to precisely measured lengths.
In general, the typical miter or chop saw table comprises a central table to which the pivot arm of the saw is rotatably mounted on a vertical axis and a fixed fence comprising coextensive lateral wings extending from each side of the central table, the rear edges of said wings having vertical rail elements and against which a work piece to be cut is maintained during the cutting operation.
Many construction projects require that elongate work pieces be miter cut to very precise lengths. One such project, for example, resides in the field of picture framing. Here, the elongate milled stock material utilized to form the frame elements are strips of wood, plastic, composite or metal molding, rabbeted on one edge. It is the rabbeted edges of the frame elements which, together, ultimately form the interior periphery of the finished frame and which thus define the dimensions of the receptacle into which the ultimate intended contents of the frame are received, such as the glass, matte, backing board, photograph, picture, or the like. Thus, in miter cutting of picture frame elements, it is the length of the inside, or rabbeted, edge of the cut work piece which constitutes the vital independent variable to be met in order to ensure proper fitting of the contents to the completed frame. While miter saw fences of the prior art are often equipped with fixed scales or other static measuring indicia engraved thereon, such indicia are difficult to read because of confusion in distinguishing between closely spaced marks, as well as parallax, and do not normally provide the requisite level of measurement precision necessary for cutting tasks requiring such precision, such as the picture framing task mentioned above. Also, movement of the elongate work piece against or along the fence during the cutting operation, such as chattering, can roughen the miter cut or introduce inaccuracies, and has also been a commonly encountered problem. In accordance with the present invention these problems have been addressed and resolved or, at the least, substantially ameliorated.